If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Meantime, I will try to put together a new posting on fabrics as requested. I would also like to ask all the SZ people stateside to email and get on your state representatives and Senators to pass health care reform with a public option and single-payer initiatives. I know some of you can afford to drop your cash at Atelier or Maxfield on your CCP or Guidi, or whatever, so maybe it's not a problem for you, but there are an awful lot of people who work (or are out of work) in this industry at all levels in the U.S. who have no health care coverage whatsoever. I know quite a few of them. And they need something better than what they have right now in the U.S. as the system stands. The price of one pair of Guidi shoes doesn't even make a dent in the monthly payment for Ruggiero's Bentley, but it would keep a family of four who had someone in the hospital covered for one month in America and out of personal bankruptcy and home foreclosure. Living in Italy where there is a public system for all the people has totally changed my attitude about government health care. Please get involved and help make it happen in the States now, before it's too late for many....

Especially when it comes to creative people in the arts, there is a huge amount who cannot get health care right now in the United States. I have always felt that fashion needs to relate more to the real needs of contemporary society than it has been doing for a long time. So bear with me, this too is part of my design concept and work. Teddy may be dead. But we aren't. Let's get this thing passed once and for all: Health Care Reform Now. For Teddy, for us, for America.

Yes, we can.

Thanks again to all of you for your kind attention, comments,
and reading.

Best wishes to all of you,

Geoffrey & the Team

Mr Small - I cannot tell you enough the great honor and privilege to read your posts. Your passion and pursuit of your art is so inherent through your writing. I thank you so much for sharing, and providing a deep glimpse into your work.

Also - I cannot stress enough and am happy that Mr. Small brought attention to the current health care reform debate. I work in the field of medical journalism and health care reform - it's a messy messy situation, but it's the real-life stories/victims that really illustrate the horrendous affects of it all. It's a combination of the recession, the real estate rut, and the health care debacle that is really contributing to the morbidity of disease and low-quality of life among many families. Do what you can to move it forward, make your voice heard.

The environment for young designers (and older ones too)

Dear SZ people,

I am just finishing up our Paris SS2010 women's presentation and heading back to Italy now after a really good session..(a special thanks to all our great retail clients for their continuing patronage, support and superb work with our collection in their stores in a generally very tough market and economy this season).

Now, following earlier posts, I am also planning to get back to preparing a new piece for SZ on our work and approach to fabrics, which I hope to get up in the next week or so...In the meantime, I was asked last year in October before our presentation in Paris by the people at the Not Just a Label (NJAL) site to write a piece on the environment in Paris for young designers. The piece was also translated into Japanese and published in Japan in "Quotation" magazine. Thought it might be timely as all the collections are coming out now, and a good read for some of you and of some interest and background on what it's like behind the scenes for the many designers and companies during the period of the international designer weeks...for your convenience you can read the article in the next 2 posts below.

The environment for young designers (and older ones too) part 1/2

reprinted from NJAL notjustalabel.com:

ARTICLES:

THE ENVIRONMENT OF YOUNG DESIGNERS

"As I approach my 58th Paris collection, NJAL has asked me to write something about fashion today: the environment of smaller labels and young designers, the hurdles they face. I show in Paris because it remains the most competitive designer arena in the world for advanced research and design. I will be frank and speak from my direct experience of showing there for 15 years and what's on my mind as I try to get back in there one more time...

First, the odds are against you today. No, they really are.

And you better be good. Really good. The last thing in the world anybody needs is another "designer collection." In Paris alone during the women's designer week, over 1,500 designer collections and brands will be competing to be seen and bought by only about 4000 buyers who will come from all over the world to view what they can, and order what their budgets allow them to spend, for the upcoming retail season in their stores. When they arrive in Paris, many will have already been bombarded by an additional thousand collections in the New York, London, and Milan fashion weeks. Bored, numbed-out, jet-lagged, they will have seen it all--and are now just trying to finish and get their priority Paris collection orders done (be they Dior, Comme des Garcons, Lanvin, or whatever) and get back to home and store.

In spite of what they say, buyers have become more and more stressed for time and money due to the continuous degradation of the industrial-world economy, the elimination of the spending power of the middle class, and spiralling travel costs. They sell less designer merchandise in their stores than they used to and therefore, have less and less time and budget to spend on their buying trips. Many others skip their trips entirely and try to buy at home from distribution agents. Of those that can still come, most will be very careful with every penny and every second they have to spare. And no one will be able to see even close to all the collections that are on offer.

On average, a buyer with a real store on the global circuit will spend 3-5 days in Paris and seriously see 10-20 collections that involve a real purchase commitment and if he/she can, will glance at a trade show or two that involve another few hundred. That leaves at least over a thousand other collections that will never be seen at all. And so, failure rates for collections are enormous, 95 percent closed after three seasons or less simply because they never sold a thing. More importantly, the average amount of total store budgets allocated for new, small or unknown collections is less than three percent. The pie is small and for the new guy, it's the crumbs.

Nevertheless, the constant media blitz of fashion seen all over the world has triggered an exponential increase in the numbers of people who now want to become "designers." But while competition to get in the game is growing, the game itself, the market, is shrinking. There are simply less and less consumers in the world who can afford anything beyond a piece from H&M or Zara on a regular basis - and less and less stores that can develop and keep such a clientele. This polarisation of high and low and the elimination of the once vast and booming middle market has forced designers to all crowd into the luxury market or perish, as the majority are simply unable to even approach competing in the much larger and even tougher low-price end. But the luxury market is not at all easy and the bars of image, exclusivity, product and quality are getting raised ever higher and higher. And large global corporations are intent on dominating both the high and low markets with vast resources of money, advertising, distribution, production, legal, logistical and media power.

The fashion business now is basically a giant lie. The constant media blitz of fashion seen all over the world is produced and paid for by an established circuit of very big companies whose interest is to have everybody chasing the dream and spending their money to do so....The wealthy person that needs to impress other wealthy people or feel that their life has some glamour in it--to spend a lot of money on large very recognizable brand products. The hundreds of millions of persons today who used to be able to spend 100 bucks on a pair of Diesel jeans, but today can only spare 14.99--to spend it on a pair of jeans at Zara instead. And the impassioned students who dream of becoming a fashion designer-to spend their/or their family's money on fashion schools, moves to Paris, London, Milan or Tokyo, years of free work stages and internships, and if able to get that far...either becoming a paid cog in the machine for one of the big fashion houses or companies, or finally making and developing a line of their own and all the inherent costs of starting a business. And then, showing it in a major centre like Paris, which of course, needs more money for showrooms, trade shows, commercial agents, pr agents, catwalks, magazines, you-name-it. They all have power and you don't. And they will be the first to tell you that you need them more than they need you and you cannot possibly afford to be without them, so if you don't have the money...find it. Paris is an expensive town. A single steel one meter rolling rack rents for over 100 Euros during fashion week. And that's only the beginning. Nobody in this game works for free, except the aspiring designer.

The brutal reality is the system views the designer as a pawn in the chess game. Designers are a dime-a-dozen these days to industry players. Ah, and let's not forget those powerful famous stores in the major capitals (I won't name the names), who love to play "plat du jour" with designer's collections. By being in their "research" store, you will be seen by buyers when they come in to town, and perhaps some of those buyers will then seek you out and find you to buy the collection for their own stores. So actually, you should be paying them to have your work hang in their store, right?

And you do, in one way or another, in a myriad of tricky deals you will never get enough money in time to cover your risks as a supplier. The bigger the name of the store, and the bigger the city, the worse they pay. And the bigger the order amount, the more you will pay out first. And then they drop you. And pick up somebody else. Somebody newer. Somebody more of the moment. The next "Plat du jour". Try to complain or stand up for yourself, and they will try to blacklist you for the next 10 years on the circuit. See, it's not about fashion. And it's not about talent. It's about power. And money. Talent is cheap. Eat it up and spit it out.

So now even if you get this far, you start to get scared and realize "you can't possibly do it alone." You have spent a lot of money. And now you need more. You need the power. You need partners. Backers, Agents. Production. Pattern-people, Stitchers. Press coverage, someone-who-can-make-a-real-product-for-you-finally, someone who can represent you... move you up the ladder. You need a name. You need the system.

And then the real nightmares begin. It's a dangerous game. And you're well on your way to losing both your collection, and your soul...

The environment for young designers (and older ones too) part 2/2

(continued from previous post)

I don't have space to explain more, but I lived through all this and more, survived to tell-the-tale, and found a different way. This is a master's game only, especially if you are going to keep your collection and your soul.

Fundamentals are everything, and sadly, there isn't a fashion school program in the world that comes even close to preparing people for what they really need to pursue this thing, and not only survive it, but do it right.

You are on your own.

If you are lucky you may find a mentor who is not greedy who will share information, knowledge and experience with you. I founded the Area show for independent designers in Paris to help a few of us, but they are very few and far between. Once I got some advice from someone who worked for England's most successful independent designer company (sorry, no names here). Their motto: "No agents. do everything yourselves. Trust no one."

And you will need passion. Only passion will keep you going and practicing in the field when it seems impossible. A person without passion is logical and will quit (and rightly so). A person with true passion will continue to try to practice the art, no matter what. And only through continuous practice and the discipline that comes with it, will you achieve the mastery of what we call a Fundamentalist Designer. One who owns his/her name, collection, distribution, production and financing of their art and work. No sponsors. No licenses. No parent companies. No agents. Total artistic and financial control of their intellectual property. And good customers to keep it all going. A true master of the game.

This is the only kind of designer that can truly create pure new research work, and new fashion based on design and innovation, not hype, media buzz or a "system push." A true creator...not a "fashion DJ," merchandiser, or celebrity.

Only passion, discipline, dedication and perseverance will get you to this level-along with your customers, who should be your best and only, financial backers. Avoid the system as much as possible. Focus on doing things your customers really want and need, and they will support you--if your work merits it. If they don't, you need to work on your work, until it does. That's the fundamental.

In the end, it's very simple. It's all about making things and selling things. Do both and you're cool. Miss one or the other, and you're out. Or you will need "someone" to do it for you. But no one capable is going to do it for nothing. And they will rarely do it with the kind of passion and attention that you want it to be done with. You will pay for sure. Probably with your company equity, artistic control, identity and ability to steer your own destiny with your work and art. A slave or pauper by any other name, no matter how many stores or magazines you will be seen in for awhile...

Sorry, gotta go...less than 15 days until the new collection opens in Paris. And there's a ton of work to do if I am going to keep my own job alive. The American banking system is collapsing today in New York, and remember, there's 2500 collections already out there gunning for my customer's budgets to choose from instead of mine...Even after 57 collections, one must never forget the laws of the old masters, "every new season is an entirely new business, and you're only as good as your last collection." If I survive this one, maybe we can talk some more, but again...the odds are against me today too.

See, it's not about fashion. And it's not about talent. It's about power. And money. Talent is cheap. Eat it up and spit it out.

So now even if you get this far, you start to get scared and realize "you can't possibly do it alone." You have spent a lot of money. And now you need more. You need the power. You need partners. Backers, Agents. Production. Pattern-people, Stitchers. Press coverage, someone-who-can-make-a-real-product-for-you-finally, someone who can represent you... move you up the ladder. You need a name. You need the system.

When i said something very similar in the Advice for new designers thread i shocked a few. Perhaps i was a little too over the top. But thanks for posting this for the kids geoff.

For those of you who plan to start your own sz offshoot label, make sure you do your real homework. Dont go by forum hype. Most of the people here are only there for talk and second hand clothes. There is a small group of dedicated idustry proffessionals like DHC but they cant possibly support everybody. The reality is that you need to sell to several shops to make your money back. And when these other shops(not naming names here) know youve posted on this forum, it doesnt always go too well. So just be smart. There is a lot of politics in fashion(especially in the niche market) and I think the newbies need to know this. Im sure Geoffrey can agree with me on this one.
My advice. Take your time, you cant become an established designer overnight. So quit bullshitting about your inspiration and your concept when your product looks exactly like the designer in the next showroom. Be original and the product will do the talking.

Might be a good idea to transfer this discussion to the advice for noobs thread. Is that ok Geoff?

When i said something very similar in the Advice for new designers thread i shocked a few. Perhaps i was a little too over the top. But thanks for posting this for the kids geoff.

For those of you who plan to start your own sz offshoot label, make sure you do your real homework. Dont go by forum hype. Most of the people here are only there for talk and second hand clothes. There is a small group of dedicated idustry proffessionals like DHC but they cant possibly support everybody. The reality is that you need to sell to several shops to make your money back. And when these other shops(not naming names here) know youve posted on this forum, it doesnt always go too well. So just be smart. There is a lot of politics in fashion(especially in the niche market) and I think the newbies need to know this. Im sure Geoffrey can agree with me on this one.
My advice. Take your time, you cant become an established designer overnight. So quit bullshitting about your inspiration and your concept when your product looks exactly like the designer in the next showroom. Be original and the product will do the talking.

Might be a good idea to transfer this discussion to the advice for noobs thread. Is that ok Geoff?

When i said something very similar in the Advice for new designers thread i shocked a few. Perhaps i was a little too over the top. But thanks for posting this for the kids geoff.

For those of you who plan to start your own sz offshoot label, make sure you do your real homework. Dont go by forum hype. Most of the people here are only there for talk and second hand clothes. There is a small group of dedicated idustry proffessionals like DHC but they cant possibly support everybody. The reality is that you need to sell to several shops to make your money back. And when these other shops(not naming names here) know youve posted on this forum, it doesnt always go too well. So just be smart. There is a lot of politics in fashion(especially in the niche market) and I think the newbies need to know this. Im sure Geoffrey can agree with me on this one.
My advice. Take your time, you cant become an established designer overnight. So quit bullshitting about your inspiration and your concept when your product looks exactly like the designer in the next showroom. Be original and the product will do the talking.

Might be a good idea to transfer this discussion to the advice for noobs thread. Is that ok Geoff?

You said nothing like what Geoffrey B. Small said.
I dont know who you are and I really dont care either, obviously you know more than you really let on, but I did find your post in the thread you are referring to offensive,
Matter of fact, this is what you said:

Originally Posted by C'est Fini

Hey man, its a tough world.

What you really need to be a designer? Lots of cash. (Talent is secondary) ... Its very easy if your gay because you can take the tried and tested route of rent-boying your way to the top.- This is how the real fashion biz works in many places. Basically find suga daddy ( think st laurent- pierre berge)

If youre straight.. find a rich girl and marry her. This is less likely than the former.

As they say, you gotta be ready to go gay for pay.

which in no way even closely similar to the informative and insightful posts that Geoffrey B. Small is making............
what you are advocating is that individuals should use their bodies as a tool for financial gain and in a hope that they can F!!#@ thier way to the top!!
to me that is the worst kind of insult, as it suggest that individuals should make becoming professionally successful preeminent to personal integrity, the exact opposite of GBS's position!

I will be respecful and thank you for asking him to post in the thread, but I wish you would take a page out of his book, and have respect for the people you are associating with on this forum.
While I am not advocating banning you, your behavior has been quite rude ("people only on this forum to buy seconhand clothes") and people have been banned for less than that.

you have also accused one of the greatest minds to have existed in fashion, to have become successful by renting himself, if you dont know the history of fashion let me spend a little time educating you
Yves Saint Laurent, is from an extremely wealthy family in Oran, Algeria in North Africa,
he became Christian Dior's assistant at age 17, at age 21, he was appointed head designer of the house of Dior, so he was already a fashion Superstar (if you can call it that in those days.......) before he had any personal or professional relations with Mr. Pierre Berge. Matter of fact, he met Berge at Dior's Funeral and it was after military duty, and being replaced by Marc Bohan, (house of Dior's designer before the late Gianfranco Ferre and now John Galliano) that Berge and YSL began any kind of professional relations..........by then he was already one of the biggest names in fashion, so check your facts, before dragging peoples integrity in the mud to prove your perverted point!

Last edited by zamb; 10-11-2009 at 04:24 PM.

“You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
.................................................. .......................

Geoffrey, I finally got to read your posts. Sounds about right. I am not sure I agree with your paragraph about the state of the consumer market, but otherwise everything seems pretty accurate. Glad to see some sobering up here.

I was talking to Sarah Mower this summer, and she told me that there are 4,000 fashion designer graduates a year in England. Must be about the same in the US, probably more. Where are they all going to go? Zara and Forever 21, I suppose.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

Zamb im actually going to be rude now and say you are rather dimwitted to not sniff a microscopic granule of sarcasm in that post.
Im not going to argue with mr pretty precious.

There were some slyly laced elements of truth in there but obviously I dont care about the repercussions of my posts considering this is an internet forum.

Im not here to de-rail Geoffs thread.

You know, instead of behaving like an asshole, it would be so much better if you provided constructive criticism and some insight. It would make people appreciate you and you would contribute to the forums. As it is, you've just been offending people, and it will just come to a point where you'll end up talking to yourself - people will simply ignore you (that is if I don't ban you first).

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

Cheers mate, I thoroughly enjoy your work, thought, taste, and replies here. Very much looking forward to reading more. I have only recently discovered but I look forward to picking up one of your garments and examining it properly..